CQ Medical™ and Leo Cancer Care - A Partnership That Continues to Support Patients of the Future
The partnership between CQ Medical and Leo Cancer Care dates back to 2018, almost at the very start of Leo Cancer Care itself. CQ Medical (formally CIVCO Radiotherapy and Q-Fix) were an early collaborator and fundamental in propelling this pioneering technology into becoming a viable treatment option.
Whilst a large percentage of the radiotherapy world had reservations about the practicalities of upright radiotherapy and preferred to observe from the sidelines and see how things would develop, CQ Medical had the opposite reaction and dove straight in with the enthusiasm and passion that we still see 5 years later.
“CQ Medical is committed to providing the customized solutions which compliment OEM technology, to mutually benefit the patient and achieve the desired outcomes.” Says John Steffen, CQ Medical Vice President of Product Management & Marketing. “CQ Medical aligned with Leo Cancer Care’s vision early on, and the collaboration began with a focus on the comfort and reproducibility of patient setups.”
CQ Medical is the global leader in patient radiotherapy positioning and healthcare innovations. They understand the importance of utilising technological creativity and imagination to create something that meets the needs of the service provider and the patient.
Their slogan IQ+EQ=CQ perfectly demonstrates their commitment to using their intelligence and imagination and combining it with their empathy and understanding of patients to create products that support patients. These goals perfectly align with Leo Cancer Care’s promise to keep advocating patient comfort and a more positive patient experience by continuing to push the boundaries in favour of upright radiotherapy.
Radiotherapy is an industry that strives for sub-millimeter accuracy and to achieve that in an orientation that varies from the norm, Leo Cancer Care sought guidance from the leaders in patient set-up and immobilization devices. Upright is the more natural position for us as humans however it is also the anatomical position in which we do most of our motion, therefore it was paramount that the upright patient positioning system could effectively stabilise a patient and reduce motion.
CQ Medical provided all their knowledge and creative expertise to create immobilization solutions for upright patient setups integrating with the Leo Cancer Care technology. One of their key focuses was the backrest for the upright patient positioning system. Just as the spine is the central support structure of the human body, so too is the backrest for the upright patient positioning system. It is the most integral part of the system in terms of support, stability, and comfort for patients. It is also the centrepiece of the system whereby any additional devices are connected including an abdominal belt, arm positioners, and thermoplastic masks.
Leo Cancer Care’s Upright Patient Positioning solution showing a vac loc back and backrest provided by CQ Medical.
The products identified by CQ Medical for Leo Cancer Care include a mixture of both novel and existing solutions. The backrest is an example of a novel solution that is an adaptation of the existing supine couch top. It is made from the same material as the couch top but at half the thickness as it no longer needs to hold the full weight of a patient and it also easily slots in and out of the upright patient positioning system. This allows service providers such as radiation therapists and physicists to handle it without a heavy load being exerted on their bodies when manoeuvring it.
The latest product development between the two businesses was displayed at ASTRO 2023.
With the development of the standard backrest, the question was raised of whether an additional head and neck board was needed for immobilisation mask fixation or whether a separate head and neck-specific backrest was needed. This became CQ Medical’s most recent project and they delivered again. The head and neck backrest prototype was unveiled at ASTRO 2023 with great reviews. Its streamlined appearance and the promise of lightweight and simple fixation points make it the ideal solution for patient workflow in a busy radiotherapy department.
The research team at Centre Leon Berard provided the clinical feedback as well as patient feedback that CQ Medical and Leo Cancer Care utilised to develop the backrest.
Sophie Boisbouvier a research radiographer at Centre Leon Berard explains “The external body anatomy is different in the upright position and the recumbent position in particular at the level of the curve of the neck, an anatomical part of the head and neck radiotherapy treatment. Overall, our head is more forward in the upright position than in the recumbent position and this is the reason that the development of a specific head and neck board is so important”.
With the backrest being the central focus of the upright patient positioning system, in order to meet head and neck plan requirements further attention needed to be focussed on the workflow and patient set-up. CQ Medical hosted workshops with Leo Cancer Care to explore together the different stabilisation points of a patient and searched CQ Medical's extensive collection of solutions until they found some existing ones that could be adapted to the upright orientation.
Once again clinical feedback has proven vital in the design process of the patient positioning system and the selection of its supporting equipment. The research team at Centre Leon Berard trialled several devices with volunteers and collected feedback on their effectiveness in comfort, stability and patient reproducibility. Read the paper here.
From this work the combination of the CQ Medical abdominal compression belt and the CQ Vac-Lok bags™, improves inter-fractional patient reproducibility and patient comfort, and has become common features in projected patient workflows.
Sophie Boisbouvier, from Centre Leon Berard, explains “For patient setup in the upright position, vacuum cushion could improve patient comfort, and contribute to the reproducibility and the stability of patient especially with the belt”.
An important part of the partnership between CQ Medical and Leo Cancer Care is the continued drive to improve. To keep investing in team research whilst adapting and exploring new technologies drawing on the expertise of engineering professionals, clinical specialists and patients themselves.
Stephen Towe CEO and founder of Leo Cancer Care expressed these words “ The relationship with CQ Medical has always been a special one. They have supported our growth since ESTRO 2018 in Barcelona – long before Leo Cancer Care had any form of design, the team from CQ was already excited about the opportunity and the potential to totally redefine the industry. This most recent phase of development really highlights the strength in our partnership and I remain just as excited about the our combined future impact on the industry”
At ASTRO 2023, our Training Manager, Shane Ikner and the VP of Strategic Alliances, Luke Federspiel met and discussed the new head and neck board devlopment, you can watch the interview here:
Please note: The backrest shown in images and videos is a prototype and not yet available for clinical use. The Leo Cancer Care technology is also not clinically available and is in the process of gaining regulatory clearance in the US.